Advice on Rules / Charges on cancelling BT

partyxparty · 19 October 2016 at 1:00PM

Hi All ... I'm new to this so please excuse any naivety on my part ...

I want to know what charges & rules apply to me cancelling my BT broadband.

I am with BT broadband, & am dissatisfied with the service ... I intend to cancel the contract at the end of the annual contract which runs thru' 22-NOV-2016.

I have separately & independently ordered new services through Virgin.

I've telephoned BT twice over the last week or two to notify them that I want to cancel my contract at the end of the annual contract, on 22-NOV-2016.

On both occasions they told me I cannot notify them, except exactly 30 days prior to the contract end, & that in any case they will charge me to cancel -- the first call they quoted 95 pounds, the second call they quoted 35 pounds.

They state that I must call them exactly on Sunday 23 October (30 days from end of contract) to cancel my contract, & that even then they will charge me fees to terminate.

Could anyone provide any guidance on how to approach this? I'm actually travelling on 23-OCT-16 so may not be able to call them.

I complained to BT but they just declined to address that, & told me the same thing ... I MUST call them on Sunday 23rd & that term. charges will apply anyway.

I think this is perverse & unfair, b ut maybe that's how it works ... regardless, just want some input on whether being charged to cancel at the end of a standard broadband + phone deal is reasonable, & if I am tied to spend an hour on Sunday in their phone queues to inform them.

Thanks in advance!

JJ_Egan · 19 October 2016 at 1:14PM

I intend to cancel the contract at the end of the annual contract which runs thru' 22-NOV-2016.

Thats not a problem if you are indeed out of contract for all services .
£35 is a cease charge as you will no longer use the BT infrastructure .You are not just changing ISP but moving to a non BT cable .VM is supplied by their own cable .

cajef · 19 October 2016 at 1:18PM

BT charge a standard cease fee if you cancel your broadband service, which is the case in this instance as you are transferring to Virgin which is a separate network.

partyxparty · 19 October 2016 at 2:17PM

Thanks for the clarifications & useful information folks ... you live & learn ... appreciate the replies.

Marcio45 · 19 October 2016 at 6:36PM

Just to clarify...
you dont have to call exactly on the 23rd of october. That is the earliest date you can give notice without incurring early termination fees.
You can ring on the 24th, 25th and so on, the only issue is that you will charged full price for the last few days. If you want to reduce/avoid paying full price you need to call soon after the 23rd. A couple of days later will only cost an extra couple of pounds.
the cease charge is becoming more common with internet providers and that has to do with the cost of sending someone to the phone exchange to switch off the phone line.

iniltous · 19 October 2016 at 6:42PM

The date they quote to call and cancel is the date to call if you want to cancel after exactly 12 months , you can still cancel after this date , but then you may stretch into a 53rd or 54th week of BT service, obviously call on that date if you want to pay for no more than the 12 month minimum term , after the 12 month anniversary you move to a standard rolling contract (1 month notice)
As others have already said, as you are in effect ceasing your broadband service and not migrating to another provider (VM don't count in these circumstances) they will charge you a broadband cease fee of about £30, there shouldn't be any other fees, unless you are still within a minimum term for other services.
Sometimes they seem to try to charge for the TV/broadband equipment, or ask for its return, ( if this is the case they should supply a Jiffy bag for you to return it in)
( Marcio45 just beat me to it )

partyxparty · 21 October 2016 at 11:28AM

Thanks again for the useful replies, appreciate the information & guidance.

Advice on Rules / Charges on cancelling BT

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